


Right Words, Wrong Time

by DoomedTemperament



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Awkward Conversations, First Kiss, Jean is a dork, M/M, Public Display of Affection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-31
Updated: 2015-03-31
Packaged: 2018-03-20 12:21:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3650160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoomedTemperament/pseuds/DoomedTemperament
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It would be absurd to say that Jean was watching all of this, too occupied to notice that he had been idly stirring the pitiful excuse for soup in his bowl for the last three minutes without actually eating. To say that he was so caught up in making heart-eyes at Eren that he didn't even hear the whispers and laughter of the other members of the survey corps as they chattered in between bites and slurps. To say that he was so distracted by his pining that he didn't even notice Sasha steal a bite of his bread, nearly directly in front of him.</p>
<p>No, all of that would be silly.</p>
<p>...Oh, who the hell was he kidding.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Right Words, Wrong Time

**Author's Note:**

> Wow, okay, so initially this was supposed to be a fic about Jean and Eren's first kiss, and it sorta spiraled away from that and got out of control.
> 
> Still pleased with it, though.

Jean was most definitely not staring at Eren during dinnertime.

There was absolutely no way that he was interested in the way that Eren would glance at Mikasa and Armin every so often. Or the way that Eren would laugh when Armin said something particularly funny. Or even the way that he looked at Mikasa, brows furrowed, when she mentioned something in a deadpan tone of voice.

It would be absurd to say that Jean was watching all of this, too occupied to notice that he had been idly stirring the pitiful excuse for soup in his bowl for the last three minutes without actually eating. To say that he was so caught up in making heart-eyes at Eren that he didn't even hear the whispers and laughter of the other members of the survey corps as they chattered in between bites and slurps. To say that he was so distracted by his pining that he didn't even notice Sasha steal a bite of his bread, nearly directly in front of him.

No, all of that would be silly.

...Oh, who the hell was he kidding.

The deal was this: Ever since the breach at trost had been sealed, since Jean and Eren had both joined the survey corps, since they had both managed to put aside their petty feuds for the sake of getting along... things had changed.

Jean had started noticing things about Eren, both big and small. He had never seen how brilliant Eren's eyes could be when they shone with excitement (as cliche as it sounded- god, Jean was turning into a sap already.) He had never seen how Eren's grin could light up a room, or how his laughter sounded like music to Jean's ears, or how his body looked after a long day of doing chores, or how he always got so goddamned passionate about what he was fighting for, or how, or how, or how. Even the small things about him were becoming more and more obvious- and, as much as it chafed him to admit it, endearing; The way that Eren would tap his fingers idly against the wood of the table whenever he was nervous, the small grunts he let out whenever he was carrying a particularly heavy load of laundry, his meticulous methods of dusting the place (to impress Captain Levi, no doubt.)

Jean had been noticing it more and more, and it was annoying. More often than not, he would find his heart begin to beat just a little bit faster whenever Eren glanced his way or cracked a smile or told a joke. His palms would get sweaty when Eren complimented him, and all he'd be able to do was mutter either a thank-you or a snarky remark. Occasionally he would look at Eren, and wonder how it would feel to get to talk to him more, and possibly hold his hand or maybe even get closer and press his lips to Eren's. They'd probably be soft and warm and inviting.

Fuck, Jean had it worse than when he liked Mikasa.

It was obvious to the others, too. Or at least, to everyone but Eren. Jean could recall several times where he had been teased about it by Connie and Sasha, and he was sure that Mikasa and Armin must have caught on at some point, based on the way they gave him strange looks when they talked about him. Reiner would nudge him in the side whenever Eren approached, as if to say 'go talk to him', while Bertholdt would stand by timidly. Hell, even Ymir and Krista would tell him that he needed to get his ass in gear (Well, Krista would, anyway- Ymir would just make a lewd 'sucking off' gesture and smirk in his general direction.)

However, the last thing he would have expected would be for Captain-Fucking-Levi, of all people, to make a scene about it. Especially during dinnertime.

(Why oh why did everyone from the base have to be there?)

"For god's sake, kid. Stop your pining and just ask Eren out already."

Upon the sudden realization that the Captain had directed the comment- and an unimpressed stare- toward him, Jean promptly spat out his drink (thankfully, nobody was in range of fire), and looked at him in disbelief.

"With all due respect Captain, I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about."

By that point, most of the members eating in the dining room had stopped to look at the small commotion; even Hanji was on the edge of their seat with interest. Most notably, Eren glanced between Jean and Levi, looking as if he had just witnessed a puppy being slaughtered.

Real smooth.

"Cut the crap, Jean. You've been staring at him for the past twenty minutes looking like a lovesick fool, and it wouldn't surprise me if you had been like that for longer." A pause, and then, "If you're willing to deny it, then please, speak up now."

A silent beat.

"Nothing?"

Jean was by no means a coward. He had handled the titan invasion on his hometown, he had helped count the bodies of those who had died during that invasion- the corpse of his best friend included-, and he had essentially signed his life away to dying in a field or forgotten patch of land to giant cannibalistic monsters. If the captain was going to call him out on his apparently blatant affections... well, who was he to back down from a challenge? Slowly but surely, he stood up, hands clenching into fists with anxiety. But he wouldn't back down. With a deep breath to steady himself, he leveled his gaze at Eren, and began to speak.

"Look, Eren, I know that-"

And that was all he managed to get out before Eren stood up and bolted out of the dining hall, leaving Jean to stare at his fleeing form in disbelief.

"Dude, what are you waiting for? Go after him!" Came a shout from Connie.

"This is ridiculous." Sasha mumbled, and nearly thunked her head on the table in exasperation.

"Go get 'em, stallion." Ymir teased- okay, Jean would ignore that one.

"Fine, fine. I'll go." Jean sighed after a short amount of time, leaving behind a room full of whoops and hollers and conspiratory whispers.

It didn't take long for Jean to find Eren. For some reason or another, Eren always seemed to take solace in the stables. Maybe he thought the horses' presence was calming in a way that humans couldn't offer, or maybe it was just because the place was so stuffy that nobody else would think to try and escape there. Nobody else but Jean, that is. So maybe he had seen Eren hiding there once or twice, that wasn't that big of a deal, was it? At any rate, Jean had managed to find Eren inside the stable, and it was then that he realized he had absolutely nothing reasonable to say. What did one do when they had just narrowly missed publicly confessing a crush to someone, anyway?

"What, you don't think you embarrassed me enough earlier?" Eren grumbled, snapping Jean out of his thoughts.

Fuck, Eren was always cute when he pouted.

"Hey, the least you could do is give me a chance to finish what I wanted to say earlier." Jean retorted, and tentatively stepped forward. He didn't want to spook Eren, though he had a feeling he might do so anyway.

"Fine, but make it quick."

Jean nodded, and let the words flow out of him.

"Look, Eren, I know that we didn't really start off on the best of terms. Hell, we pretty much punched each other in the face when we were first getting to know each other as trainees. And I'm not going to apologize for that, by the way, but I think we both kind of deserved it. I was being an ass- yes, I'm admitting it- and I didn't think I'd... well, I didn't think I'd be able to get to know you as well as I did. I'm still surprised you actually talk to me sometimes when you could probably do so much better than what I have to offer. I almost feel greedy, because I know just being your mostly-friend- is that a good term? Fuck, I'm getting off track. I know I'm already lucky enough to stand where I am with you, and you don't have to give me anything that you don't want to." Jean paused to breathe a little bit, clasping his palms behind his back and pointedly looking away from Eren, "But... I like being near you, and I like talking to you, and sometimes it's so goddamned stupid when I think about how nice it would be if I could hold your hand or get you to smile at me more often, and... and... fuck, I don't even know anymore. I like you, okay? I like you a lot."

The silence that followed was stilted, and Jean immediately mentally kicked himself for thinking that even beginning to speak was a good idea. How could he have honestly thought that Eren would like him back? It was Eren that they were talking about. He probably didn't-

"Hmh?"

The feeling of a pair of lips awkwardly bumping into his own startled him out of his thoughts, and it was only when Eren pulled away with an angry-red blush that Jean registered what had happened.

Eren had kissed him.

Eren had fucking kissed him.

Or at least, he had tried to. Jean didn't know if Eren had ever even kissed someone before- and now that he thought about it, did that mean that Eren had given his first kiss away to Jean? He wasn't sure if he should be proud or disbelieving.

"Was that your first...?" Jean asked, leaving the last word unspoken.

"So what if it was?" Ah, there was the familiar indignation that came along with Eren. It was almost relaxing to hear it again. "I wanted to try it."

Jean quirked an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

With a huff of breath, Eren turned to look at him with a startlingly clear expression. "I've never... I've never liked someone before. And I don't know what it's supposed to feel like, so I have no idea if what I'm doing is right or wrong. But I think... I think I can try to give it a chance. Because I think I could get used to you too. It's nice when you actually care about me. And as sappy as you are, I think... I think what you said was really nice."

What was Jean supposed to feel? Happy? Confused? Surprised? Maybe all three would be appropriate.

"So... why did you run out of the dining room, then?"

Eren gave him a blank stare. "Because, would you like it if I confessed my love for you in front of the entire damn survey corps?"

"So you do love me." Jean teased.

Rolling his eyes, Eren stepped forward to place another kiss on his lips.

And Jean didn't mind at all.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments make me a happy potato.
> 
> As usual, find me on tumblr at www.doomedtemperament.tumblr.com


End file.
